Who pulled Cesar Sayoc's strings?

A churlish reader has suggested that the arrest of Cesar Sayoc, a self-identified Republican now facing five federal charges in connection with more than a dozen -- I've lost count -- intercepted suspicious packages, disproves my theory that the "pipe bomb" affair is a hoax concocted for to give the Democrats a much-needed boost in the run-up to the mid-term elections. See "More on the moronic pipe bombs", WWW 25/10/18.

I call BS on those calling BS on my theory! If anything, what we've learned in the last 24 hours about Mr Sayoc reinforces my skepticism.

Mr Sayoc was born in New York. Eventually he drifted to Florida, which (along with California) is a magnet for America's loners, losers and nutbars. [Didn't you live there at one time? Ed.] Court records show that his conviction in the 1990s in Broward County on charges of grand theft and stolen property. In 2004, he was convicted on a felony charge of fraud and a misdemeanour of tampering with physical evidence.

In between, he was sentenced in Dade County in August 2002 for threatening to "throw, place, project or discharge any destructive device" during a conversation with a representative of a Florida utility. He served a year's probation after a judge signed a discharge certificate in November 2002. In 2015, he reported to police that his van was broken into outside of a gym in Oakland Park FL. He claimed that more than $40,000 worth of items were stolen, including $7150 worth of Donald Trump-brand suits.

Cesar Sayoc is a registered Republican. He has worked, off and on, as a stripper, promoter of "entertainment events" and, most recently, a pizza delivery man. Event promoter Tony Valentine said he hired Mr Sayoc in the 90s to strip on multiple occasions in Ohio, and that he (Sayoc) travelled the country for similar appearances. "He really couldn't find his niche in life, and I guess he found it now," Mr Valentine told the Washington Examiner. "Back in the 90s, he was running around from Minnesota to the Carolinas to Florida. He was like a gypsy."

His cousin, Lenny Altieri, was less charitable in his characterization. "He has been a loner," Mr Altieri told AP. "I know the guy is a lunatic."

We pause now for a brief lesson from the pages of history. For those who didn't catch my reference to the Reichstag Fire (in "Who's behind the pipe bombs?", WWW 24/10/18), the fire that destroyed the German parliament building in Berlin on 27 February 1933, was blamed by Hitler's government on Martinus van der Lubbe, a Dutch communist. The "intellectually challenged" Dutchman was found near the building and attributed the fire to communist agitators in general, although he claimed he acted alone.

Historians disagree as to whether Mr van der Lubbe acted alone, as he said, to protest the condition of the German working class. The Nazis accused the Comintern of the act. The Communists claimed that the arson was planned and ordered by the Nazis as a false flag operation. The court which tried Mr van der Lubbe ruled that indeed he acted alone. No-one else was involved. Of course.

Now back to my theory... Suppose you were a strategist for the Democratic Party, faced with the task of preventing the Trump Republicans from prevailing in next month's mid-term elections. You've got the lamestream media and (((Barbra Streisand))) and all of Hollywood on your side, and plenty of money to spend, thanks to (((George Soros))). But the migrant caravan approaching the southern border has heightened Americans' fears of the impending invasion, which the Democrats seem inclined to encourage rather than stop. What do you do?

What is needed (you say to yourself) is some kind of physical attack on the leaders of our party. Not an actual assassination of course, and nothing so lame as a burglary at Democratic headquarters. How about something dangerous sent through the mail? Poison, perhaps... or how about a bomb?! Great idea!! But who (you are still talking to yourself) could we get to build a bomb (or twelve bombs) and put them in the mail? Hey, how about someone who lives (yes, lives!) in a van like this?

We return now to Cesar Sayoc's conviction in 2002. Ron Lowy, the attorney who represented Mr Sayoc in the past and now represents his family, told the Clinton News Network's Anderson Cooper that he recalls someone with a "lesser IQ" and "substantial" emotional problems. Lowy said Sayoc has refused medical help for years, despite urging from his family. "He's become indignant, angry, someone who doesn't want to look at his problems."

Mr Lowy said that his former client "never seemed sophisticated enough" to put together a complicated mail bomb scheme and he wouldn't be surprised if Sayoc had someone who "helped prod or encourage him to do this."

But who? Here are a few innocent questions:
* From whom would Mr Sayoc have obtained the addresses -- home addresses -- of people like (((George Soros))) and the Prez? You can't just search the phone book to find them.
* How long would it have taken a semi-skilled person like Mr Sayoc to build not one, not two, but 12 or 14 (and counting) "bombs", and package them together with sachets of milk powder (or whatever it was) and pack them neatly in padded envelopes? A one-man job? Don't think so!
* Did Mr Sayoc actually take not one, not two, but 12 or 14 (and counting) packages to the post office, buy enough stamps to put six on each one and then hand them over the counter without anyone asking him what he was mailing?
* Suspending disbelief, if that's what happened at the post office, how come there are no postmarks on any of the packages... at least not the ones of which photos have been published?
* How did "the authorities" know where and when to look to intercept the suspicious packages before they could be delivered?
[That's enough innocent questions! Ed.]

OK, OK! But you get my point. IMHO, the whole thing reeks of publicity stunt, engineered to get Democrats out to vote in sympathy and anger! I am waiting with bated breath to hear what Mr Sayoc has to say about whether or not he acted alone. Let's just hope that he is brought to trial quickly. Wouldn't want any evil to befall him before he has a chance to speak. Of course that would never happen in America. Oh... Wait... Lee Harvey Oswald... ... ...